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Thursday, February 05, 2009

"A spokesman for Neil Young has confirmed that the rock legend/electric car innovator's next album, Fork in the Road, is expected in late March. The loosely vehicular album, some of which Young has been performing on tour, includes 'Fork in the Road', 'Fuel Line', 'When Worlds Collide', 'Johnny Magic', 'Singing a Song', 'Light a Candle', and 'Sea Change.' The other five songs have not been definitively titled."

Get Behind The WheelHit The Road And Go To TownYou Don't Need A Map To Get AroundOff The RoadCough Up The Bucks.

I believe that songs which are hard to name aren't good :-)

I guess out of these, "Hit The Road" is my least Favorite. "Cough Up The Bucks" reminds me of "Dog House". Who knows, just like we hadn't heard "Johnny Magic", maybe there are some other new ones which sub into the CD.

I was listening to Freedom the other day and particularly the song, "Someday". It includes the line, "Smog might turn to stars, someday."That's the difference between Neil then and Neil now. Now he has to make an entire album to say what he said back then in one line.

I just love it when you guys write about how bad the new stuff is and how good the old stuff was. I just want more new stuff, yep, it might not be as good as Trans or Landing on Water or Life or Greendale or Living with War and might even be as poor as that really bad trilogy Tonight's the Night, Time Fades Away and On the Beach but NEW IS GOOD!

There's plenty of time for the archives. One day there won't be any more new stuff and that will be a very sad day.

Lucky Paul, I think you're right about that one. I remember the day when "On the Beach" came out.

Everyone complained. Good grief. We want more Harvest!

I remember the critics whining over the set lists during the concert tours back then. What is this shit he's playing? Hehe ... from "On the Beach" noless. What do the critics ever know except to complain?

Wahwah!

Isn't it enough we have the performance series and the line up of great songs from his past?

Fork in the Road is a hoot. It's pure boogie woogie - funky - rock and roll. Neil's having fun. He's having the time of his life!

OMG I am very distressed. They did not mention "Get Around" as one of the songs on the new album. That song better be on there! It is by far my favorite of the new ones I have heard. "Off the Road" is my other favorite, and I don't see that mentioned either, oh dear! "Johnny Magic" ? Hmm. Can't wait to hear it. Great title. But I'm jealous of Johnny already, whoever he is, having Neil write a song about him. Hmmph.loveandaffectionkaren

"I was listening to Freedom the other day and particularly the song, "Someday". It includes the line, "Smog might turn to stars, someday."That's the difference between Neil then and Neil now. Now he has to make an entire album to say what he said back then in one line."

Well said Glenn. I remember posting something similar when Prairie Wind was released. He used most of that album to tell us the same things that he'd shared with a few lines from 'Helpless' 35 years earlier...

Well said, Peter M.I remember posting something similar when After the Goldrush was released. He used most of that album to tell us the same things that he'd shared with a few lines from the song'Sultan' some years earlier...I'm still waiting for another Sultan. I know he can - he once did it.

Well Martin, Sultan was crap, so I can understand you being happy for Neil to keep churning out Prairie Winds & Fork In The Roads. I love just about all his stuff up until the mid-'90's and a handful of songs since. Still love the guy live and it was great to see him again just a couple of weeks back - but i don't have to pretend to like the mediocre stuff, just because it's Neil. If it was anyone else singing those FITR songs, you wouldn't give them a second listen...

oh boy sooooo untrue....chrome dreams has mostly excelent songs.i love that lp..the way..no hidden path..spirit road..beautiful bluebird..ever after..shinning light..dirty old man..great classic neil..praire wind is also a wonderful record...only a dream,one of his greatest songs..silver and gold..another killereendale and living with war are neil doin his quirky weird stuff..but both have brillaint moments on them....i think neils last 20 years has been full of lively heart felt brillaint moments..and i totally look foward to the new stuff.....i think some of the above comments are crap...hahah..waz

i dont agree at all...rubbish...neils still doin plenty of great stuff..the deja vu movie.chrome dreams..praire wind..greendale..living with war...silver and gold..all of those have great moments..maybe you two above would rather the rolling stones..brilliant same songs..exactly the same way every time...

I also agree and don't agree. Yes, I prefer all the new stuff, good or bad, new is allways better then the Archives. Chrome Dreams 2 is a superb album if you buy it on vinyl. Ten times better then the cd version. Silver and Gold is gold. The new stuff is great funky blues.

Rock-n-Roll Woman, that's just silly to compare the new songs he's playing now with the OTB songs he was debuting back in 1974.Why not compare them to say, the Are You Passionate songs? That's where they'll sit in Neil's canon, if not even lower. You all keep saying that "new is better", but I'm guessing that deep down you'd much prefer to go to a Neil show where the set list was full of OTB songs and other classics than one that was full of FITR and AYP songs. I know I would!

All the new records have great moments and songs. Mirror Ball (I'm the Ocean), Broken Arrow (Big Time, Loose Change), Are You Passionate (Goin' Home, When I Hold You In My Arms), Silver and Gold (the whole record), Prairie Wind (It's a Dream), Greendale (Bandit, Be the Rain), Living With War (LWW, The Restless Consumer, Roger and Out), CDII - and in between, songs like Gateway of Love, Standing in the Light of Love (will they be on Toast?), Interstate - just to mention a few.

Come gather 'round whinersWherever you roamAnd admit that the watersAround you have grownAnd accept it that soonYou'll be drenched to the bone.If your time to youIs worth savin'Then you better start swimmin'Or you'll sink like a stoneFor the songs they are a-changin'.

Complainers and whinersThroughout the landDo not criticizeWhat you can't understandThe songs and the lyricsAre beyond your commandYour old road isRapidly agin'.Please get out of the new oneIf you can't lend your handFor the songs they are a-changin'.

I am a neil young fan all the way from old to new. The thing is neil doesn't really care what we think he just puts out music that is relevant to what HE sees and he can get away with it. He doesn't have to impress. The simplicity and often awkwardness of neil's songs, or type of songs is what I love. For one I'm always wondering what's next. He is what he is. Some of us can't stay stuck in their certain album time periods, wanting the same type songs rehashed over and over again (ex:Harvest) I for one take the good with the crap. Dirty old man, fork in the road , to powderfinger and cortez....keep them comin neil!!!!

I don't like EVERY new song, but Iike to hear some new stuff, good or bad, instead of just older, alternate versions of things I have already heard. Nothing wrong with the old, just enjoy the anticipation that I get when I first hear a new release. New albums from Neil are like getting a letter from an old friend.....Even if they do take a few years to be released, heheh.It's nice to catch up with what is going on with them and see how it relates to me. And that is why I say, once again, New music is betterBumper stickers should be issued....

hahaha..peter m, your gettin cranky and mean..neil and bob dylan are the only two left who are out there creating with heart and soul, still pushin there own path and doin there own thing, following the muse no matter what....i love THE PAINTER, those lyrics arent that bad anyway.and the chorus is very moving and though provoking...ACTUALLY I LOVE THE WHOLE ALBUM..ITS ONLY A DREAM is one of his great songs...chrome dreams is excelent to.I LOVE broken arrow..AND WHO DOESNT LOVE SILVER AND GOLD...i cant see where the critism comes from...i also enjoy neils whacked out ideas, greendale and livin with war might not be masterpieces, but i love him for folowing his ideas thru and they do have excelent moments on them.i mean at least he has never gone as low as the disgrace that mick and keef and the stones have become..a big traveling, corporate rock n roll mcdonals joke..the stones are hideous..and have been for at least 35 years..We have some 20 neil albums which im sure we all love and obsess over.i enjoy playing them over and over,but i also like going to my collection and pulling out some old weird album like TRANS..or everybodys rockin..or arc..and thinking.."what the#$%^ is this" AND I REALLY ENJOY GOING DOWN THESE WEIRD LITTLE PATHS,even if the music didnt come off...while i think of it the deja vu dvd is certainly stunning to..SORRY MATE BUT I THINK NEILS NOT PERFECT,BUT IS BEEN A FANTASTIC RIDE..A VERY CREATIVE And BRILLIANT LAST COUPLE OF DECADES....oh sleeps with angels is his greatest lp..dead man,incredible..and the 3 live archives brilliant to..whew,,,and yet people complain..???

Well, I't complaining about the new songs on THIS record. I liked some of Greendale, most of Prairie Wind and a few songs on LWW.

But these new songs -- as we've heard them live -- stink. They remind me of the dross he served up at the Catalyst in 1984 ("Rock Forever"). He had the good sense, then, to see they were subpar and we never heard them again.

I love Bob! Wasn't paying out on him at all, just quoting him. At least he still writes great songs, pity about his live performances. Neil is the opposite, still great live, not that good with song writing these days. Maybe they should collaborate - Bob writes 'em, Neil plays 'em!! Sort of another Elton / Bernie set-up! And The Painter lyrics are that bad!

Lets see Peter M compose a song anywhere NEAR as good as the Painter. Neil's been doing/WRITING great work these days! CD11 is a FANTASTIC ALBUM!!!! If you dis No HIDDEN PATH, SHINING LIGHT,SPIRIT ROAD....THEN YOU DONT LIKE NEIL YOUNG AT ALL AND NEVER DID!!!! GREENDALE is BLOODY GREAT... PURE NEIL ALL THE WAY! Listen to DEVILS SIDEWALK really loud or on head phones and tell me that song isnt Awesome! The whole Album in fact. I Agree with the guy who said buy it on Vinyl....BUY THEM ALL ON VINYL AND YOU'LL LOVE THEM X2 MORE ....it just sounds better. I CAN'T FUCKING WAIT FOR THE NEW RECORD! TO THE POEPLE BLASTING NEIL FOR WRITING AND RELEASING NEW ALBUMS....CONSIDER THIS: ARE YOU A NEIL YOUNG FAN REALLY? HAVE YOU FOLLOWED HIS CAREER? TIME WILL SHOW THAT YOU ARE ON THE WRONG SIDE OF ROCK N'ROLL HISTORY! ROCK ON NEIL....KEEP THE NEW STUFF COMING...ALL YOU CRITICS SIT AAAAALLLLOOOOOOONNNNE!

mmm cohen makes a great album every 3 years..what sorta bullshit is that??? i love cohens first 3 records..i love bits and peices of his stuff since..however he has only 2made around 3 lp,s in the last 20 years and both of them pretty bloody lame...he has not made a great ,killer lp in almost 40 years...there is a load of wank being written here thats for sure...like PRAIRE WIND IS A CONCEPT lp like living with war??/ excuse me but thats rubbish...neil still makes brilliant records..chrome dreams 2 is just wonderful..as is praire wind..as is silver and gold..as is broken arrow etc..jjjjjeeesus what ya want???and the new songs sound fucked up great rock n roll...better than kings of leon or white stripes or strokes anyday

I first loved Neil when my sister had the album of After the Gold Rush. My mother asked... Who is this girl...? It was 1972. I have loved him al the time till now. Not always with the same feeling, but the love is growing over the years. I have my favorites too as: CD2, Greendale, Living with war, H&D, Zuma, OtB, AS&B, TtN, NY and....Landing on water!!!Discs that i 'never' play are: Everybody's rocking, Mirror Ball, Silver and Gold and Ragged Glory.So... everyone has his own taste. But for me, Neil is so damn good, and with the years, he's still getting better... And, i know, 'It's just one song', but i love that.

To 05:56: I didn't mean that Neil is a better song writer than Dylan. What I tried to say is that Neil is a fuckin' good song writer and artist. I think some people here are just judging from the lyrics. The lyrics are one part of the song. You can't judge the lyrics separate from the melody and the singing. And - just to be clear - my three all time favourites are Neil, Dylan and Van Morrison. So I think Dylan is up there, too, yes. And I think Down By the River, Hurricane and Powderfinger are three of the best songs ever made. Still I'm excited by the new stuff.

I don't know the reliability of this, it came from a friend of mine I trust who works for well known Aussie tv network. It came his way as a NY young fan. I don't know if it's true or not but was apparently given at a recent interview. Looks like It's either a from the album or an early lyric to fork in the road or perhaps something entirely different. Like i say i don't know, not trying to be cryptic, just protecting my friend and may well be bullshit...

Long Road

Now the sun is upThe morning is coldI've been driving all nightOn this dark road.

Well I've learned new waysI'm no technophobeAll the luddites hereTurn bullshit to gold.

Now the sun will shineAnd the birds will singBut time will run outIt won't mean a thing

The landscapes changingAnd the seas will riseThe cities we builtWill grow and then die

But no one listensTo a words I sayI'll keep on talkingTill they take me away

CHORUSNow you know, I always take the long way round,Hands on the wheel keeping to my sound.

By the way...No One TOPS Dylan in song writing...I mean he's is up there with Shakespeare! But Neil is up there....and has surpassed Cohen long ago....Dylan may be the greatest but it's all a matter of taste...it IS possible for someone to like Neil Young's songs better then Dylan....Hell some people out there think Bono is up there with Dylan (CHRIST!) So its all a matter of taste...Some just have HORRIBLE TASTE!!

lets not forget....that its totally true that songwriters don't get better with age.... it just doesn't happen...they drop off at lot after 30...yet they can still be great...but after 40 they drop off even more....so I'd say that the fact that Neil Young is still SOOOO prolific at this age just confirms that he as surpassed 'GREAT'Also when songwriters get off drugs they also tend to get horrible (ie Aerosmith) so while Neil does still rip joints...I doubt he parties like he did...just another fact of his greatness as a song writer..... food for thought.

Hey Glenn, that guy posting at 07:59 isn't me! Either a coincidence or tomfoolery... :-) You know that I would never praise Prairie Wind or Chrome Dreams 2! Or be too stupid to not recognise that PW is a concept album!

Btw, a friend went and saw Lenny in Sydney the other week - they said he was superb...

Hey Marianne, if those lyrics you posted are Neil's... well, my faith in him as a songwriter is restored! I would never expect him to pay out on Bob though?

I just received my airfreight copy of Uncut with the Archives Neil special. I enjoyed the article a lot and think Archives will be great. It’s annoying that FITR is being released instead of the Archives. Even the alternate takes on Archives will probably beat anything on FITR. And anyone who says otherwise is probably only trying to make themselves feel better for the continual delay of such a great project. FITR won’t hold a candle to the Archives.

I know this is off topic but.Just heard on a local radio station that CSN and I would guess Y are supposedly going to release a CD of a concert from the '74 tour.That would be sweet if it's true.If anybody has heard about this or can confirm please let me know.:)Thanks. The Mugwump